Srinagar: As many as 47 prisoners have tested positive for novel coronavirus in district jail Anantnag, ringing alarm bells among the jail authorities in Jammu & Kashmir.
A senior official told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that 47 prisoners, one jail staffer and one contractor supplying material to the jail have tested positive for COVID-19 in Anantnag since Friday
“Of them , 44 tested positive on Tuesday and four on Monday,” he said, adding that the first COVID-19 positive case was detected on Friday.
When contacted, DG Prisons, VK Singh refused to comment on the matter.
“You should talk to official spokesman and authorities of Home department on the matter,” he said.
These cases have raised questions on measures initiated by Jammu & Kashmir government to prevent spread of COVID-19 in prisons of the Union Territory.
It is worthwhile to mention here that Prisons department of UT had repeatedly maintained that they are taking adequate measures to prevent spread of the virus in jails.
According to details collected by KNO, the occupancy in jails of J&K presently is 12% more than their normal capacity.
As many as 3628 prisoners are house in 14 jails of J&K against their overall capacity of 3234.
Besides, nearly 90 PSA detainees are also lodged in jails of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana—(KNO)
